On 7 November
1918, the first anniversary of the Russian October Revolution, Kurt
Eisner of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD)
declared Bavaria a "free state", a declaration which overthrew
the monarchy of the Wittelsbach dynasty which had ruled for over 700
years. Eisner became Minister-President of Bavaria. Though he advocated
a "socialist republic", he distanced himself from the Russian
Bolsheviks, declaring that his government would protect property rights.
For a few days, the Munich economist Lujo Brentano served as People's
Commissar for Trade (Volkskommissar für Handel).

After Eisner's
USPD had lost the elections, he decided to resign from his office. On 21
February 1919, as he was on his way to parliament to announce his
resignation, he was shot by the right-wing nationalist Anton Graf von
Arco auf Valley, who was rejected from membership in the Thule Society
because of Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. This assassination
caused unrest and lawlessness in Bavaria, and the news of a soviet
revolution in Hungary encouraged communists and anarchists to seize
power.

The place in the Promenadestrasse
where Kurt Eisner was killed.
Revolutionary soldiers on guard.

Memorial card.
On the banner: For Freedom
and Justice.
On the tombstone: His spirit lives on

Funeral of Kurt Eisner
Russian deputation
with wreaths.

Graf Anton Arco-ValleyThe murderer of Kurt Eisner

Bavarian
Soviet Republic

On 6 April, the
"Bavarian Soviet Republic" was proclaimed. Initially, it was
ruled by USPD members such as Ernst Toller and Gustav Landauer, and
anarchists like Erich Mühsam. However, Ernst Toller, a playwrighter, was
not very good at dealing with politics, and his government did little to
restore order in the city.
His government members were also not always well-chosen. For instance, the
Foreign Affairs Deputy (who had been admitted several times to psychiatric
hospitals), declared war on Switzerland, over Switzerland's refusal to
lend 60 locomotives to the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Another incident saw
him send cables to both the Pope and Lenin, asking as to the whereabouts
of the key to the lavatory.
Burleigh, Michael (2000). The Third Reich: A New History. London:
Macmillan. ISBN 0-330-48757-4. pp40.
As such, the regime collapsed within six days, being replaced by the
communists, with Eugen Levine, sometimes characterized as a "potential
German Lenin" as their leader.
Levine began to enact communist reforms, that included expropriating
luxurious apartments and giving them to the homeless and placing factories
under the ownership and control of their workers. Levine also had plans to
abolish paper money and reform the education system. However, he never had
time to implement them.
Levine refused to collaborate with the regular army of the city, and also
organized his own army, the Red Army (Rote Armee) under Rudolf Egelhofer,
similar to the Red Army of Soviet Russia. In order to support the
revolutionary government, thousands of unemployed workers volunteered;
soon the ranks of the Rote Armee reached 20,000. The Red Guards began
arresting suspected counterrevolutionaries and on 29 April 1919, eight
men, including the well-connected Prince von Thurn und Taxis, were accused
as right-wing spies and executed.
Soon after, on 3 May 1919, the Freikorps (having a force of 30,000 men)
together with the "White Guards of Capitalism" (having a force
of 9,000) entered the Bavarian Soviet Republic and defeated the
Communists, after bitter street fights in which over 1,000 volunteer
supporters of the government were killed. About 800 men and women were
arrested and executed by the victorious Freikorps. Eugen Levine was among
those executed. Levine was condemned to death for the execution of Prince
von Thurn und Taxis and seven others.